Publishers Weekly
03/23/2020
Delinsky’s latest (after Before and Again) is a moving, intimate tale about the indelible bond between family members. The Aldiss sisters—Mallory, Anne, and Margo—reunite at their family’s Bay Bluff, R.I., beach house 20 years after their father’s role in a scandal divided them and broke up their parents’ marriage. Their father, judge Tom Aldiss, was suspected in the disappearance of neighbor Elizabeth MacKay during a late-night boat ride that was later declared an accidental drowning, though her body was never recovered. After college, Mallory settled in New York City while Anne stayed in Bay Bluff. Delinsky fast-forwards to present day, when Mallory receives an alarming call from Jack Sabathian, her first love and Elizabeth’s son, about Tom’s mental decline. Immediately upon arrival in Bay Bluff, Mallory tries to make peace with Anne, who resents Mallory’s intrusion, while resisting her still-strong attraction to Jack. Furthering the suspense, Margo divulges a secret about a love triangle that transpired before their parents married. As long-buried secrets are revealed, the sisters contend with the extreme circumstances that caused the breach in their relationships with one another. This well-crafted story, buoyed by descriptions of the weathered beach town and nicely drawn characters, will delight Delinsky’s fans. (May)
From the Publisher
*Instant New York Times bestseller!*
"Delinsky (Before and Again) presents a powerful story about the importance of love, family, and the acceptance of life's changes...This page-turner will be in demand by Delinsky's many fans." - Library Journal, Starred Review
"A moving, intimate tale about the indelible bond between family members." - Publishers Weekly
“A delicious beach read!” - Booklist
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2020
Mallory Aldiss has not been back to her hometown of Bay Bluff, RI, for years; the memories are too painful. But when her childhood friend Jack, who is her dad's neighbor, calls to tell her that her father threatened him with a gun, she and her 13-year-old daughter Joy decide to visit Bay Bluff for a week. Twenty years earlier, Jack's mother disappeared while riding with Mallory's father in his boat. Now that her father has dementia, it is imperative to find out what really happened before it is too late. Was it murder, suicide, or an accident? As Mallory and her sisters sort through their good and bad memories while dealing with present-day challenges, secrets are gradually revealed, and Mallory reconnects with a former love. VERDICT Delinsky (Before and Again) presents a powerful story about the importance of love, family, and the acceptance of life's changes. Joy is a little too good to be true but adds a lot of motivation to Mallory's actions. This page-turner will be in demand by Delinsky's many fans. [See Prepub Alert, 11/11/19.]—Margaret Bentley, Shiawassee Dist. Lib., Owosso, MI
Kirkus Reviews
2020-03-02
A middle-aged woman returns to her childhood home to care for her ailing father, confronting many painful secrets from her past.
When Mallory Aldiss gets a call from a long-ago boyfriend telling her that her elderly father has been gallivanting around town with a gun in his hand, Mallory decides it’s time to return to the small Rhode Island town that she’s been avoiding for more than a decade. Mallory’s precocious 13-year-old daughter, Joy, is thrilled that she'll get to meet her grandfather at long last, and an aunt, too, and she'll finally see the place where her mother grew up. When they arrive in Bay Bluff, it’s barely a few hours before Mallory bumps into her old flame, Jack, the only man she’s ever really loved. Gone is the rebellious young person she remembers, and in his place stands a compassionate, accomplished adult. As they try to reconnect, Mallory realizes that the same obstacle that pushed them apart decades earlier is still standing in their way: Jack blames Mallory’s father for his mother’s death. No one knows exactly how Jack’s mother died, but Jack thinks a love affair between her and Mallory’s father had something to do with it. As Jack and Mallory chase down answers, Mallory also tries to repair her rocky relationships with her two sisters and determine why her father has always been so hard on her. Told entirely from Mallory’s perspective, the novel has a haunting, nostalgic quality. Despite the complex and overlapping layers to the history of Bay Bluff and its inhabitants, the book at times trudges too slowly through Mallory’s meanderings down Memory Lane. Even so, Delinsky sometimes manages to pick up the pace, and in those moments the beauty and nuance of this complicated family tale shine through. Readers who don’t mind skimming past details that do little to advance the plot may find that the juicier nuggets and realistically rendered human connections are worth the effort.
A touching family drama that effectively explores the negative impact of stress on fragile relationships.
